A/N: Here's the next installment.

First: thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. They warm my heart. I know I haven't answered them yet, but the time of the year has been unexpectedly hectic. Guess who had an allergic reaction to food yesterday? LOL.

Disclaimer: I sort of forgot to add this, but I own nothing at all. Unfortunately. I didn't find the rights to Criminal Minds under my Yule tree, despite fervent wishing.

"Kevin never asked her to marry him," Derek told JJ over a sandwich they were quickly eating in a diner while waiting for search results. She raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to continue.

"The jerk is engaged to someone else," he added in an angry tone, he still couldn't believe how anyone could do that to his baby girl. If you asked him, he wouldn't hesitate... "He took the afternoon, cleared out his stuff, and wasn't even going to tell her why."

"Still," JJ mused, "I never thought she'd be this heartbroken over him." Morgan looked away, he honestly didn't know. Obviously, he made a great friend if he didn't even know the basics of her three year relationship.

"Just in time for Christmas, too," Morgan looked around at all the decorations in the diner, he couldn't help but worry about Penelope again, "All her plans probably fell through." JJ looked at him weirdly, her head cocked to the side, as if she was trying to gauge whether he was serious or not.

"What?" he sat back in his chair, one arm flung over its back, questioning her change in mood.

"Morgan, she never has any plans for Christmas. She works. Kevin goes to his family, and she's not invited," JJ carefully told him, not wanting him to lose it in the middle of a small Californian town.

"What the ... ?" he started, but JJ's cellphone rang. They were getting closer to their UNSUB, and if he could do anything about it, Derek vowed to be home in time for Christmas … and to make Penelope's holidays the best she ever had.

=~==The Profiler Who Saved Christmas==~=

On the 23rd, Derek was almost ready to turn over every single stone in his vicinity just to find their UNSUB. The case had looked rather straight-forward, abduction-murder-dump of several women in a 50 mile radius around the town. Except they still had not even a single possible subject.

"Damned," he kicked an empty can of coke laying around, all his planning was almost shot to hell – but wasn't such always the fate of BAU profilers. Still, he'd pulled so many favors to surprise Penelope – arranged with Hotch and the director for the two of them to have the next week off, informed his mother he wasn't coming alone this year, arranged them seats on the same flight... and now what should have been a simple case was threatening to ruin everything.

"Reid, please tell me you have a miracle for me," he sighed in his phone, getting strange looks from Prentiss who had come out to the last dumping ground with him, but Reid could only inform him that their latest lead had lead to a man who died out of state.

"What's the matter with you?" Emily asked, sifting through a wild rose bush, her brow slightly furrowed.

"Nothing," he grumbled, going in the opposite direction of where she was standing.

"You know if you keep being distracted like that, we're going to be stuck out here forever!" she yelled after him, making him stop and turn around, "You're not doing anyone a favor with that."

"I want to get home in time to do something for Garcia, she never celebrates..." His voice trailed off, he had a sudden overwhelming feeling of guilt washing over him, because he'd never even known.

"Do you ever wonder why you didn't know?" Prentiss stepped closer, wiping her hands from looking through the dirt. "Morgan, she doesn't tell you these things because she doesn't want you to worry about her while you're finally with your family."

"I know," he said, softly, almost inaudibly, "I should've known, though, best friends are supposed to be there for them."

"Derek,..." Emily hesitated, unsure of how he'd take what she was about to say next, "You've ignored her relationship and anything that has to do with it for the past three years. Ask yourself why, why you couldn't be happy for her and listen to her, be there for her. You used to be able to talk about everything. Think, Morgan, and maybe when you've figured it out you can really do something about it."

He just nodded – there was nothing more to add to her words. Her question was rhetorical, they both knew the answer. Only it was the first time someone dared to tell him out loud. He was pulling off his gloves, ready to call it a day and go back to the precinct, when Prentiss called him over.

"Morgan, this is likely the UNSUB's," she pointed at a weapon, laying a bit out of the way, as if it had fallen and slid away.

"He must've been interrupted when Phillips found the body this morning," Morgan agreed, "And it probably fell while he was in a hurry."

"He might come back for it, this is a collector's piece," Emily added. Their UNSUB had a very particular modus operandi, in which detail played a big role. Which was why it was even more particular they couldn't catch him, yet finding the antique weapon shed a whole new light on the situation. If his ritual was carried out with heirloom instruments, it was no wonder they weren't registered and Garcia couldn't find him. Now, however, she would be able to.

"We'll be waiting for him," Morgan said with a grim face, as he walked back towards the SVU and called for back-up.

=~==The Profiler Who Saved Christmas==~=

The plane rid home seemed to take double as long as usual. It was certainly not the first time the team had traveled to California, but Derek blamed his impatience to get back to Penelope for the torture he was currently enduring. And with a bit of luck, he would be traveling even more that day, commercial on top of it.

Every minute of the flight, all he could think about was how he wanted to see her face lift up when she opened her presents. They'd been chatting every night since the case, and he could tell she was feeling a lot better about herself, especially helped by the many compliments he wasn't shy with at all.

He had barely been able to stay buckled up in his seat while they were landing, and as soon as the doors opened he was the first one out, running towards the waiting SUVs. A quick look on his watch showed him he had six hours to make it back to the airport on time, more than enough to surprise Penelope, who would be hard at work, unsuspecting of the change in her plans, drive her home to pack, pick up his own luggage at home and then drive the both of them back for their flight. Anxious to spend their Christmas with their loved ones too, the rest of the team was right behind him and they made it back to the FBI building in record time.

A/N: And what a glorious plan Morgan will unfold :)