Chapter Five:

Oh God… The UNSUB knows me… He knows my name… He has attacked me… I just sat on the floor of my office with half the team sitting around me. Despite my constant attempts to stop, I continued to shake, my whole body twitching profusely. The tears wouldn't stop either. This wasn't the first time I felt fear like this, but this was the first time that I couldn't control my emotions around the others. I felt a soft hand on my cheek. Looking over, I saw Morgan, wiping the tears from my face.

"Hey, now, it's going to be okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He whispered, wiping more of the tears from my face. His touch was so soft, it almost felt like an angels. I tried to smile, but the feelings that I had kept me from doing so. I just leaned for him, wanting to be closer to him. Based on my body movement, he must have known what to do because he moved towards me, pulling me into his embrace. "I'm here, just let it out." He whispered again, softly, his lips brushing up against my ear. A tingle flew through my body, moving up and down my spine like lightning. I wanted so badly to do what he said, to just let it go, but there was something holding me back. Something that I could never tell anyone and could never forget. Even his hushed words could not help me do that.

Agent Hotchner walked back into my office after a brief absence. Due to this new evidence in the case, he needed to make sure that the proper precautions were taken to ensure the safety of his staff. "Alright, I just got off the phone with the chief of police. He wants to do a thorough investigation of the scene where the body was found to see if there are any more clues that the UNSUB may have left that could connect him to Agent Garcia. In the meantime, Garcia, it would be wise of you to stay with a friend, okay?" He looked at me and I managed to nod to him. I didn't really have many friends but I would definitely find somewhere to stay.

After all the messy drama of the day, I didn't feel up to doing anything. I just wanted to go somewhere and hide. JJ came over to me while I was still in Morgan's arms. "You can always stay with me if you need to or Elle. She would be happy to help you out." She said. I smiled awkwardly but smiled anyway.

"Thanks JJ. I'll probably take you up on that. Maybe I could bounce between houses so I'm not imposing." I said, finally calming myself down. I looked up at Morgan. "Thanks…" I said, turning around and stepping up on my tiptoes, kissing him on the cheek… "You have like, literally no idea how much you are helping." He just flashed that smile of his at me before returning to his serious face.

"I will make sure nothing ever happens to you." He said, lifting my hand in his and kissing it softly. I couldn't help but giggle a little. "Call me, sometime. We can go out and then you can stay with me for a little while." He said, walking back towards his office.

Once he was gone, I could feel an odd feeling in my stomach. It just kept feeling like something was fluttering… Butterflies? Was I having butterflies in my stomach? From Morgan? Oh dear… I thought as watched him walk away. I mean, he certainly was handsome but… I mean, he would never go for a girl like me. I wasn't considered to be a beautiful person. Overweight since childbirth and awkward as fuck. Nope, I gave up on love a long time ago.

I grabbed the teddy bear from my office and started over to Elle's office. I decided that I could ask her if she wouldn't mind me staying with her. I didn't really know much about her, but I guess if she let me stay with her, I would learn. Walking over to her, I thought about how I could ask so much of her but I really couldn't find the words to put it out in the open. As I approached her office, I could hear her on the phone. She was speaking relatively fast and it definitely wasn't in English. I knocked on the door.

"Mamá, Sí, lo sé. Mamá. Sí. Sí. Voy a estar allí. Está bien, mamá tengo que volver al trabajo. Besos. Adiós." She said, before hanging up her phone and looked up at me. "Oh hey, sorry, I was talking to my mom… She hates my job… Anyway, what can I do for you Penelope?" She said, looking at me. I sighed quietly. "Well, I was, just, uhh.. you know wondering if there was any way that I could possibly like sta—" I started but she cut me off. "Stay with me?" She said, pursing her lips into a light smile. "Of course. I have extra space. Plus, mama would love to meet you." She looked at me, waiting for a response. I smiled widely, unsure of what else to do. "Oh, thank you Elle. You have no idea how much this means to me! After this whole case, I am just completely shaken up and I just…" I realized that I had started rambling and trailed off. "When.. uhm.. When would you want me to come over?" "You can come anytime. I'm sure you'll need to get some of your things from home though." She smiled but that quickly faded as her phone rang again. "Ai! Sorry, my mama is calling again…" I stepped out of the room with just enough time to hear her begin talking again. "¡Hola, lo que mamá?" Walking back to my office, still clinging to the bear, I felt a sight sense of relief. I would have a safe place to stay for a little while so I could focus on my work. I wondered if I would have to be taken off the case now that it appeared that I had a personal connection to the UNSUB. I could hope but I doubted it. JJ walked out of her office as I walked back to mine. "Ya talk to Elle?" She asked, walking next to me back to my office. "Oh yes! She said that I can stay there for a while." I smiled back at her. "Great. I'm glad to hear that you are going to be staying with someone. One quick question, do you speak Spanish?" "Ummm… No." I looked confused when she asked. That's a weird question to ask randomly. "Okay good. Her mom is Cuban, ya know. And she and Elle are completely fluent in Spanish and sometimes they like to talk completely in Spanish, mostly about really private things. I stayed with them once and they were talking about sex… Unfortunately, I am also fluent in Spanish so I knew exactly what they were saying. I didn't tell Elle that until I left. She was really embarrassed." She said, laughing a little as she recalled the event. Oh goody, now if they decide to talk about me while I'm there, I will never know because I can't understand… I hoped that staying will Elle would be a good experience for me. I hadn't lived with anyone for a few years now since the accident. It might be good for me to learn how to live with people again. "I wouldn't worry too much. Her mom is really nice. You'll have a good time. Plus, her mom cooks and they invite some of us over to have dinner." She said, waiting outside my office as I got my stuff ready to leave. I needed to get everything to head over to Elle and plus, Hotch had told me to take the rest of the afternoon off and just try to relax a little. "Oh cool! That would be nice. Hey, do you know where Morgan is? I need to talk to him." I said as I grabbed my purse and keys to Esther. "Umm… I would check with Reid. He might be trying to get Reid's outlook on this situation." She said before beginning to walk back to her office. "Thanks!" I said, heading towards Reid's area. He and Morgan were staring at a clear glass board that was covered in individual photos of each of the survivors and the two victims. They had a big map that had a specific marking for each of the women. Each one was from a different area, not just the same cities but hours away from each other. I couldn't help but wonder who had so much time on their hands as to abduct women from all over the state. It was just hard for me to understand.

"You know what I don't understand is how this is connected to Garcia. Each of these vics shares similar qualities but she doesn't fit the MO for the UNSUB." Reid said as he continued to stare at the whiteboard and pictures. "Maybe he's doing this for her… Like trying to prove his superiority to her." He said, pulling his hand through his hair. I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach as he talked about what could have lead the UNSUB to commit such heinous crimes. It made it even worse that now he was considering the idea that the UNSUB was doing this for me…

I didn't want to hear anything else he had to say so I knocked on the door. "Umm excuse me Dr. Reid… Can I borrow Morgan for a minute?" I asked, feeling like I was back in college. I never really referred to anyone by their titles so it was odd for me to do that now.

"Oh you don't have to ask my permission." He said as Morgan turned towards me.

"What's up?" He asked softly, walking toward me.

"I just… Well… Hotch gave me the afternoon off and I need to go back to my place so I can get some stuff together so I can take it over to Elle's house and I don't exactly feel comfortable, uhm, you know, being alone…" I said, feeling pathetic for asking. "You don't have to be there… I don't even know why I am asking..." I said, turning to leave. Morgan caught my hand.

"All you had to do was ask, Garcia. I'll let Hotch know and we can go." His eyes were fixed on mine. "Never be afraid to ask me for anything." His voice sent sparks through my body. I got that tingly feeling again. The tingles continued as I watched him run over to Hotch and then come back towards me, extending his hand. "Ya coming?"

We walked out to the parking lot and I started to head towards Esther. Morgan walked over with me. But he didn't stop at Esther. He walked past her to the car beside her and opened the passenger side door. I looked at him, a little confused at what he was doing before I realized that he was going to drive. I locked the doors to my car and put them back in my bag before I got into his car. It was really nice. Decked out in smooth black leather and a hi tech sound system. It even still had the new car smell.

He got in the car and backed out of the garage. "You're going to have to give me directions. I'm not sure where you live at." He said, chuckling. I laughed a little and started navigating him to my home. It wasn't a terrible distance away but I wanted to enjoy every second of my alone time with Morgan. We talked and laughed the whole drive, sharing different interests that we had and what we had done before we worked at the BAU. He told me about his father and how he had worked as a police officer before being killed while on duty. I told him about my parents' fatal car accident and how I had just shut myself away. The discussions seemed never ending until we parked in my driveway. Sighing, we both got out, and made our way to the front door. I fiddled with my keys for a minute, trying to find the key to the door. I had way too many keys.

"Having some problems?" He chuckled.

"Yes… Too many keys…" I laughed back as I kept flittering through the keys and continually trying them.

"Well, we will just have to get you a separate ring for your house key, that way this never happens again." He said, his voice had a joking yet serious tone to it.

"That would be appreciated." I said, still messing with the damn keys. I put another one in and turned it, hearing the tumblers moving. "Ah ha! Found it!" I said, opening the door. I walked in, inviting Morgan in to the house too.

My house wasn't the cleanest it could be since I was the only one that ever had to experience it. I felt a few shades of embarrassment as I walked past a few pair of underwear and a couple bras that had been thrown about. This was definitely not what I had intended. I just wanted to pop in and get a few outfits and some toiletries to take to Elle's house. Instead, I was feeling more self-conscious every step I took.

"I'm sorry for the mess…" I said to myself, almost hoping that he wasn't looking around. "I wasn't expecting to be bringing anyone home… well, like ever." I said, heading towards my bedroom. He chuckled, still following me around. I knew there was a suitcase in my closet that I could grab and pack a few things in. It did make it all easier that I had all of my outfits picked out already so I didn't have to go through the hassle of picking out clothes.

Once I got to my room, I remembered how much of a mess it was. There were clothes everywhere as well as water bottles and bowls from cereal. I could feel my cheeks turning a darker shade of red by the second. Rushing over to my closet, I reached trying to grab the suitcase. Of course, I was too short. I needed to grab my stool but when I turned around; Morgan was there, already touching the suitcase. His biceps were peaked, stretching his shirt to it's limit. I felt my heart beat speed up as he moved closer to me, pulling the suitcase down with one quick flick of the wrist. He just stood there, looking down at me, his eyes fixed on mine.

"th..thank you…" I said, softly. His face was nearly touching mine now. My heart started beating faster. I could feel the flush of my cheeks grow warmer as we looked into each other's eyes. He looked at me as if he had never seen me before but at the same time knew everything about me. I felt him tracing up my arm with his hand but his eyes never faltered. It sent a chill up my spine but it felt good to be touched like that. His hand didn't stop at my arm, working its way up to my cheek. He brushed it softly, sweeping up and down with his pointer finger. I kept watching him as he used his left hand to pull me closer and holding my chin between his thumb and pointer finger with his right. "I… i…" I started saying but he didn't stop.

"I know…" He said and them he pulled me in, pressing his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and just let the fireworks start.