Aaron frowned as he and JJ entered Penelope's apartment. Chairs were turned over, glass was shattered, pillows were torn and there were trace amounts of blood that could only belong to Penelope. He had told his analyst that he would go to her place and grab her go bag from her bedroom closet. He wasn't being completely untruthful. He would be grabbing her belongings, as well as cleaning up her apartment to remove the immediate reminders of the abuse she suffered.
"Oh, Penelope," JJ said, holding a hand to her chest as she took in the sight of her best friend's sanctuary. Hotch had respected Penelope's friendship and privacy by not revealing the entire truth of the events that happened to Penelope in recent days since Emily's death, but his hatred for Kevin Lynch was more apparent than his trademark scowl upon his face. When JJ asked about Derek's absence, Aaron was quick to change the subject toward the extent of the care Penelope would need once she returned.
Both knew Penelope would never admit she needed help. They learned after Battle shot her that she was independent to a fault. Penelope barely let Derek help her, and he was her best friend. JJ sighed as she looked at the photographs around her apartment. The majority of the photos were of members of the team. However maybe only two in the entire apartment included Lynch, which surprised her after a three year relationship.
JJ could see the stress in her friend's demeanor. Placing a gentle hand on his forearm as he took in the mess of Penelope's unique apartment, she whispered, "Let me gather her things. You straighten up out here." He only nodded and moved toward the kitchen to straighten out her counter tops. However, before he placed a hand on near the broken glass, JJ stopped and tossed him a digital camera. "We need photographic evidence in case Penelope decides to press charges, Aaron." Nodding, he inhaled sharply and began photographing the kitchen as he cleaned.
JJ crossed the threshold of blue beads and looked at Penelope's sleeping quarters. She remembered girls nights in the apartment when Emily first joined the BAU. Penelope had hosted JJ's baby shower in this apartment, where JJ later slept on the bed she was currently studying for traces of sexual assault. Shuddering at the thought, she took minor photos of the bedroom due to the lack of evidence pointing to any violent interactions in the room.
When she came to the closet, she found Garcia's go back ready and packed. She knew of her best friend stepping up to the plate once Strauss and the Pentagon reassigned her. The thought still angers her that Garcia needed to change at all or that she, herself, was removed from her family like a game piece in chess. As JJ studied the closet, she was intrigued when she noticed that nothing belonged to Kevin. Nothing was recently moved or shuffled as she would have expected. It was as if he had nothing there, not even a toothbrush.
Yet, she saw a collection of Derek's belongings being stacked in the corner of the closet. She knew of their movie nights and sleep overs once he returned from a case. Penelope was the glue that kept Derek Morgan alive in the field and was the light that always brought him home.
JJ photographed the bathroom but spotted no evidence of foul play. When she looked toward the bedside table, she smiled at the photograph that was placed by the bejeweled telephone. Lifting it to view it clearly, it was the moment when JJ brought Henry to the BAU after a particularly grueling case. Agent Todd was nice enough to take a photo of their BAU family for Penelope's growing collection of photographs.
Studying the photo, JJ's heart skipped when she saw Penelope and Derek. JJ had let Penelope hold Henry so she could talk to Spencer. Derek had both his arms wrapped around Penelope's body from behind, securing her and Henry. In the flash, Penelope was looking at the camera while Derek was looking right down to their friend. His gaze was full of love and emotion. She sighed sadly wondering what happened in the past couple days to have her and Aaron here instead of Derek.
A flashing light shook her from her thoughts as she took notice of Penelope's answering machine. There had been five missed calls and one voice message. With a pen in hand, JJ was ready to note who was on the hunt for her best friend. However, her hand couldn't force the pen to write as Derek's voice came over the receiver.
"Hey... it's me... I miss you... I know we have a lot to talk about, but I haven't heard from you... I just... I need... Baby Girl, I just... Penelope, just call me when you get this. I would love to hear from you. I miss you. Okay, Goodnight."
JJ wasn't a profiler, but she knew Derek Morgan very well. She knew the pain and longing in his voice as he reached out for Penelope. Taking a sad breath, JJ wiped a tear from her eyes in wonder of what had transpired within her family and how Derek would handle the news of Penelope's attack.
Aaron started to grow angry as he picked up pieces of shattered glass from different sections of the living room. Looking around, he wished he could be absorbed by the bright love and light that Penelope possessed. However, blood and disturbed furniture tend to pollute darkness in all things pure. He wanted to know why Penelope kept Kevin's alcohol problem a secret from him. He knew and understood that everyone needed their secrets, however this was huge. She shouldn't have gone through it alone.
Looking around at the photos that dominated her apartment, he couldn't help but notice that Morgan lit up her world. Random items of his would be in the cabinets. His favorite foods were on stand by in her refrigerator. His favorite movies were in her DVD collection. This was Derek's sanctuary as well as Penelope's. Kevin had lived with being second place until it consumed him. His violence was the result of desperation, frustration, envy and disappointment. It didn't excuse his actions toward his analyst, but Aaron understood him more as a criminal.
Hotch took a photograph of a frame face down upon the ground. When he turned it over, it was one of Penelope and Derek at a carpentry fair. Aaron remembered this day because he couldn't make it due to Jack being down with the flu. Hotch took in Penelope's decorated carpenter's apron and Derek's bright smile. Their joy had significantly diminished in the past month, and with the loss of Emily as well as Penelope's attack, Aaron feared that joy would only be a distant memory.
Derek pulled up to Penelope's apartment surprised to see JJ's sedan parked where he tended to park. Parking across the street, he looked up at the apartment he hadn't ventured into since Emily's funeral. It was a moment of healing that he had to run from. It was all too real: Emily's death, his pain, Penelope's loyalty and love. He remembered her face as she came apart in his arms, her tight hold against his frame while her body rocked against him, sending him thrusting frantically within her.
He pulled himself from those thoughts when he thought of what he needed to say to her. More than anything, he wanted her to be his. He wanted to bed the man that held her tightly at night as she dreamed. He wanted her to be the woman who he'd give his life for. He wanted to be her heart as she was his.
Derek wasn't foolish. He knew he broke a part of their friendship when he fled from her bed. However, he was willing to do whatever it took to make her see that she was all he ever wanted or needed.
When Derek approached the front door, his stomach was knotted. He wondered if she'd slam the door in his face. He wondered if he'd watch her tears fall as she broke his heart. He feared her hating him. As he rang the door bell, he yelled through the door, "Baby Girl, it's me, D. I need to see you."
JJ walked through the beads swiftly as Aaron walked toward the door. "Aaron," she warned in a firm yet quiet voice. He only nodded and opened the door to his younger agent.
Derek was taken by surprise when Hotch opened the door. His gaze was serious and saddened. Looking over his shoulder, he saw JJ holding a camera, her eyes rimmed red. Derek felt as if his stomach plummeted to his ankles. "Where's Penelope?" he asked quietly.
"Come inside, Morgan," Aaron said firmly, letting him into the doorway.
He looked around Penelope's apartment and felt his heart race in fear. Along the ground was blood and broken glass. One of the arm chairs was turned on its side while the couch took several hits. He couldn't hear his Baby Girl's hums or laughter from anywhere in the apartment. "Where is Penelope?" he asked again, this time with more fear in his posture.
"Have a seat," JJ said, motioning him toward a chair.
"I don't want to sit," he snapped. "Where is Penelope, Hotch?"
"Penelope was admitted to Mercy General last night, Derek," Hotch answered. "She was dropped off and left alone. Before she fell unconscious, she informed staff to notify me and I was with her last night."
If Derek hadn't been devastated in the past month, this news sent him into a tornado of emotion. Stepping backwards, she looked around the room, noticing the traces of violence that remained. Glass, blood and dysfunction were in his sights.
"Derek, you really need to sit," JJ said.
"What happened?" he asked. How could she not tell me? he asked himself.
"I spoke to her last night when I went to the hospital. Apparently during an intimate moment with Kevin, he snapped and assaulted her. It got excessively violent. Penelope's injuries are very extensive, however, they do believe she can be sent home today if she is released to appropriate care."
Derek saw red when he realized that Kevin had hurt his Penelope. "Im going to kill him," Derek growled, cracking his knuckles in a moment of excess energy. "How could she not have the staff call me? I am her next of kin!"
"You and I both know why you weren't called, Derek! You have no right to feel betrayed." Hotch stood angrily and had to swallow the urge to rattle his friend. "Penelope is severely injured, both physically and emotionally. She knows what the loss of Emily has done to us all, especially you. Calling me was her last resort, otherwise, she would be going through this alone."
"That's ridiculous!" he growled.
"What's ridiculous is that Kevin has already fled Virginia by now and that Penelope is laying in a hospital bed alone waiting to be released. She doesn't want to be a burden to anyone, and if she hadn't collapsed in the emergency room, none of us would have known of this happening until it was too late." Hotch felt his defenses for Penelope dominate his structure.
While Hotch felt he needed to protect Penelope, Derek felt distraught, angry and hurt. He blamed himself for leaving her side the night that they made love. If he would have stayed, Lynch never would have attacked her. He wondered what she was thinking, what her injuries were like, if she was afraid. "I need to see her," was all he could say to both JJ and Aaron.
"I don't know..." Hotch said.
"Aaron, if there is one thing I know in this life is that Derek cares for Penelope. I know she is hurting and vulnerable, but maybe they both need her to see him right now," JJ said, her opinion waving like a while flag of surrender to ease the tensions. "Aaron, if Penelope has any hope of being released today, her place needs to be spotless. Why doesn't Derek stay with Penelope until she is released and then he can bring her here?"
Hotch could only nodded and walk away before he allowed his anger to say words toward his agent he knew he would regret.
Derek looked at his blonde companion with broken eyes. "Thank you, Jayje," he said with saddened gratitude.
"Derek, regardless of what is happened between you two now, I know that she loves you very much. I believe she is afraid of what you will think when you see her. From what Hotch told me, her injuries are significant."
Derek nodded with a broken heart and looked at JJ once again. "I don't deserve her," he said sadly.
"None of us do," she said quickly. "She's our guardian angel for a reason."
Nodding, Derek walked out the apartment, her go bag in hand and felt as if he was walking with lead legs toward his truck. Images of Penelope's broken body flashed into his mind, the visions piercing his heart as if they were bullets destroying him from the inside out. When he got into the passenger's seat, he gripped the steering wheel tightly and allowed a fearful tear to leave his eye as he realized that he could still lose his Goddess to the hands of death. He could only hope that when she saw him, her eyes were not filled with hatred and disgust.