Derek and Penelope walked towards his truck. Usually Derek would have grabbed Penelope's arm or placed his arm around her shoulder as they walked. Not this time, he was very detached from her and even walked a few steps ahead of her. This didn't go unnoticed. In fact, he didn't even open the door for her. He unlocked the truck with the keyless entry and walked over to his side of the truck and opened his door to get in. As soon as they had settled she put on her seat belt and quickly turned to him. "Are you mad at me for something?" She asked.

"No, I'm not mad." He replied dryly. He turned on the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. They drove silently for about 10 minutes but the silence was uncomfortable and very unlike them.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted your plans, I had no idea the night would end this way." She said, trying to break the ice.

"No, I didn't have plans." Was all he said.

Penelope focused on the road, it was obvious that something was bothering him and he wasn't about to say what it was. She had an idea it had to do with Kevin and what had happened. But the way he was acting he seemed to be focusing his anger on her. She knew better than to push him, he would open up if and when he was ready. For right now she'd just sit there quietly trying to figure out how she was going to deal with Kevin. She had enough on her plate with him.

Derek stared straight ahead. His thoughts swirled around the conversation with Emily. He was angry but he didn't know why. It's not like she said anything she hadn't said 100 times before. Hell, he was tired of her and JJ making comments about their friendship. Even Rossi had insinuated a thing or two. All of that seemed to stop when she started to date Kevin. That should have been enough for them to see that Penelope and he were just friends and had been all along. "She was with Kevin. She was Kevin's girlfriend".

He remembered their first meeting. Battle had just been shot and Penelope walked over to Kevin and introduced herself. He recalled looking over at her and seeing her smile at Kevin as she stretched out her hand to shake his. He remembered thinking that they both had so much in common. All the geek stuff and all. He thought it was strange at the time that he'd make a move on her being as she'd just been through something so traumatic but when he drove her back to the hospital he broached the subject with her and she seemed uninterested so he let it go.

"DEREK!" Penelope screamed. Derek snapped out of his thoughts to realize he was driving towards a truck that was coming head on towards them. He swerved towards the right going over the shoulder and jammed on his breaks. All that could be heard was the screeching of the tires and horn of the truck as it passed right by them. He sat there hands still on the steering wheel trying to calm himself down. Taking a few deep breaths he put the truck in park and turned to Penelope and asked if she was ok.

"I'm fine, where were you?" She asked with a confused look.

"I'm fine, I'm... I'm just tired I guess I wasn't focused." He said.

"Do you want me to drive?" She asked as she gently placed her hand on his thigh.

Derek closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Something about her touch tonight made him feel off. He couldn't get his conversation with Emily out of his head and the look on Penelope's face when she returned to the table after arguing with Kevin. He was mad and he had no idea why but the worst part was he was taking it out on her.

Derek opened his eyes and released his grip on the steering wheel. He turned slightly towards Penelope. He wanted to apologize but couldn't find the words mainly because he had no clue what he was so upset at or why she was his target. His head was everywhere but where it had to be and as a result they almost got into an accident.

"Pen, I'm so sorry, I'm being an ass it's not fair to you." He said his voice raspy and deep.

"Tell me what's bothering you Sweetness, I'm here to listen." She said. "I know it's about Kevin, you were fine up to that point. It's ok you don't have to spare my feelings."

"I don't know what's wrong. I think I'm just tired; it's been a long two weeks. I guess my tolerance is low… I don't know, I have no idea but I'm sure of one thing, it's not you I'm upset at. You just got caught in the line of fire. I'm sorry." Derek tilted his head against the headrest of his car seat and looked at Penelope.

"How can a girl resist those eyes? There's nothing to be sorry for Derek, we all have off days." She said and then gave him the smile she saved only for him. "Offer stands you know, I can drive."

"It's ok Baby girl, I'm good." He said as he positioned himself and put the truck in drive and headed towards her apartment.

They got to the apartment complex in 10 minutes. The silence in the car wasn't quite so uncomfortable but was still prevalent. He parked the truck in front of the building and turned it off. As he was getting out of the truck she told him he didn't need to walk her in but he insisted on walking her to the door. "I promise, I won't come in but I do want to make sure everything's ok." He said. He wasn't going to tell her that he wanted to make sure that Kevin wasn't inside waiting for her. Deep down he almost wished he was, he wanted to hit something so bad he could taste it and he would have been the perfect target.

When they reached her apartment door, she unlocked it and turned to face him. "You sure you don't want to come in for a while?" She said.

"Baby, any other night I'd jump at the chance to spend some quality time with you, but tonight I'm afraid I'd be horrible company. Can I take a rain check?" He asked

"Sure, name the time and date and we'll plan something." She told him.

He smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Thanks Baby girl." He said as he placed his finger under her chin and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry about tonight."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Baby, there's no need to apologize. You know I'm here for you unconditionally. No harm no foul as they say."

"Well now isn't that sweet." Kevin said as he clapped his hands rhythmically in mock. "I should have guessed that this is what I was going to find."

Penelope sighed. She knew how he could get and knowing Derek, she knew this wasn't going to end well. "Kevin what are you doing here."

"Visiting my girlfriend, the one I haven't seen in two weeks. The one that seems to find other ways of entertaining herself without me." Kevin spewed.

"Hey man, this is not what you think it is." Derek tried to explain.

"I know exactly what THIS is Morgan. I've known what THIS is for months now." Kevin said as he came closer to them and stepped in between Derek and Penelope.

"Calm down Kevin, you're jumping to conclusions here and you're going to say something you'll regret later." Derek said pushing Penelope back with his arm and stepping between them.

"Stay out of this Morgan; this is none of your business." Kevin yelled as he stepped closer to Morgan

"Step off Lynch! This will definitely not go well for you. I mean it Man step back." Derek said practically growling.

"Oh that's right; she has her own personal guard dog. SSA Morgan to the rescue. "Kevin said sarcastically.

"Enough Kevin. I told you I didn't want to get into this." Penelope yelled.

"No, I'm sure you don't want to get into this, you never do, but I have a pretty clear picture of what you DO want to get into." He said.

"THAT'S IT!" Derek said as his stepped back and swung at Kevin with all the body force he could muster landing a solid punch in his face.

Kevin's body flew back and smacked the wall and as if in slow motion his body slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor unconscious.