A Bad Week Turns Into 2
Chapter 4
Morgan's Cleared
AN: I don't own anything wish I did though. I'm not going to write the part between James and Derek I think that is wonderfully done and I don't want to touch it, however I'm going to just do the end part of the conversation between Morgan and Buford at the end.
When JJ mentioned Buford's name Garcia knew he wouldn't know anything and told them as much. "Why wouldn't he know?" Gideon asked.
"I can't tell you, but trust me he will not know what you need to know about Derek," she replied looking back at the computer.
"Pen, I know you want to protect him from something, but you can help him by telling us," JJ said.
"They had a falling out, that's what he told me that was it, he didn't say why or when, all he said was that they do not talk anymore, he hasn't spoken to him since before he left for college," Garcia said refusing to let herself cry right now, "Just please don't tell him I told you," she added before she left the room going towards the bathroom.
"I still want to talk to him," Hotch replied before he left the room with Gideon behind him.
After talking to Buford, Hotch went back towards the interrogation room. Garcia was standing on the other side of the glass. "I didn't talk to him I promise," she said quickly. Hotch could see she was close to tears so he left her alone going in the room. This wasn't going to be pretty he thought, but afterwards to show some peace offering and that he wasn't on Gordinski's side he'd let them talk to each other, screw the rules.
Morgan had his arms crossed on the table with his head down. 'Here goes nothing' Hotch thought to himself wishing he didn't have to do this. "Carl Buford?" he asked.
"What?" Morgan asked his voice barely above a whisper.
"Carl Buford, he's the person responsible for getting your records expunged," Hotch said watching Morgan stand up hitting his fist on the table. He was pissed and Hotch knew it.
"I told you stay out of my business," Morgan said his voice changing from pissed to angry.
Garcia flinched on the other side of the glass watching the two of them. She had the intercom on so she could hear what they were saying, but they couldn't hear her.
"You said you visit the Youth Center every time you come here, but you haven't talked to him in years, why not go see the man that made your career possible?" Hotch asked and the reaction he got told him one of two things, first he'd pushed the wrong button and secondly whatever Morgan was hiding had something to do with why he didn't talk to Buford anymore.
Morgan was angry he couldn't help but want to punch something at the moment instead he knocked the box off the table not caring where it landed. "I'm warning you, Hotch back off," he said clinching his fists.
Hotch wasn't sure if he should say the last part he didn't want to get punched and he was sure that if he pushed hard enough that he'd get just that. "Why did you two have a falling out?" he asked.
Garcia couldn't take it, she'd never seen him this mad, and it was breaking her heart to watch as Hotch kept pushing him farther and farther. She knew that if she walked in there Hotch would make her leave, and she wouldn't get to talk to him till they cleared him so she sat down in the chair and let the tears fall. 'Why couldn't he just tell them, what was so bad?' she asked herself before she saw the door open and Hotch come out.
"You have five minutes once he cools off," Hotch told her, but she was up and in the room before the door was shut. "Pen…" however Hotch just let her go, he knew that she could deal with Morgan.
Derek was sitting with his back against the wall. He'd slid down against the corner away from the glass mirror so nobody could see him; he was trying to get himself under control before he started throwing punches. He hadn't even noticed that somebody had come into the room until he was being pulled into Garcia's arms.
"I promise you when this is over, handsome, that we'll lock ourselves in the house and not come out for few days," Garcia said, "but you have to tell us what is the problem, please, I can't watch you keep going through this," she added.
"I can't, I need to get out of here," Derek said back holding onto her as if she'd disappear and he would be stuck here alone. Right now he felt like she was the only one on his side.
"I know, baby, but I can't watch Hotch and Gideon tear you down, I don't know what to do," she said.
Morgan looked at her wiping the tears from her eyes, "Don't cry, I hate it when you cry, baby girl," he said with slight smile, with her being here the anger he'd felt left, she could always take his pain away even if it was just for a little while. She knew when he needed her, or when he just needed her there next to him. Sometimes they didn't even need to talk; they knew each other better than anybody else. "You better go before Gordinski finds out you're in here, I don't want you in trouble too," he said.
"I don't care about him, I'm pretty sure I could put the fear of God into him if he messes with me the wrong way," Garcia said, "I love you, Derek," she said before kissing him.
Hotch knocked on the door, "Penelope come on, I need you back out here," he said.
"I love you too, baby girl," Morgan replied before she got up and left the room. Hotch placed cup of coffee on the table before leaving. However, he didn't close the door all the way back. He needed Morgan out of this room, he needed this to be over soon and the way things were going, they were going to end up at each other's throats again if this didn't end now.
Emily and had just gotten back with Gordinski's partner after leaving the Youth Center. "We just left his office," she said coming up to Hotch and the others.
"Something happened, Morgan won't even talk about Buford," Hotch said before the other detective noticed that Derek was gone.
Gordinski wasn't happy at all threatening them, but Hotch knew before morning they would have the real unsub in custody, he knew that Morgan was going to lead them to the person; they just had to follow him.
"What do we know?" Gideon asked as they started going over what they knew.
"Buford was like a sergeant father to Morgan after his dad died, coached him, mentored him, took him on trips," Emily said, "Did what his dad would have done," she added.
Something clicked in Hotch's mind at that moment, why would Morgan refuse to talk about Buford, why would he never want to see him, why would he cut all contact with the man short of going to the youth center when he came home. "Jason, I think I know where he's going," he said before going after Gordinski with Gideon coming with him.
"I want the rest of you to stay here," Gideon added back at the other team members that were still in the room. He wasn't sure what Hotch had just figured out but he hoped that it cleared Morgan.
Garcia had gone outside she'd needed fresh air, but since it was cold she'd got into the back of one of their SUV's sitting there, she didn't want anybody to see her at the moment. She'd seen Derek take off out the back of the station, she'd wanted so badly to go with him, but she couldn't he was on the run now. Garcia knew that Hotch didn't shut the door back; he didn't have to tell her, she knew what he'd been doing.
Gideon opened the passenger side of the SUV startling her out of her thoughts. "What's going on?" she asked.
"What are you doing in here?" Gideon asked her.
"I needed to be alone," she replied looking over at Hotch who was now in the driver's seat.
"We don't have time to explain just buckle up," Hotch said back.
"Hotch, we can't take her with us," Gideon stated.
"Jason, if what I believe is true, Derek's going to need her now more than ever, just get in," he said before cranking the vehicle and following Gordinski. He'd told them not to use the sirens and to not charge in, if they did they would not get the real murder. Gordinski still didn't believe them, but Hotch had threatened to go over his head again if he didn't to what he was told, they'd been asked to come there and for once they were taking control of this, Morgan was innocent.
"When we get there, you are to stay outside until we come back out, I do not need you in danger," Hotch said looking in the review mirror at Garcia.
"I promise," she said.
"I mean it too, don't you dare come in there once we are inside," Hotch said.
"Hotch; do you really think Buford would do something stupid?" Gideon asked.
"He pointed the guilt card at Morgan first, and he claimed he didn't know why Morgan didn't go and see him every time he came in." Hotch told them replaying the facts they knew.
"He lied about not seeing Derek that day," Garcia said from the back seat.
"What?" they asked her.
"I talked to Emily before she came inside, she talked to James Barfield he's a friend of Derek's, he's been trying to call him all day long, but with him in custody not like he can talk to James," Garcia said starting to ramble.
"Garcia," Gideon said wanting her to get the part they needed to know about.
"Sorry, James, Damien and Morgan were tossing around the football yes, but before that this local gang guy, Rodney something did a drive by, he didn't shot or anything, but Buford came out there with a baseball bat, he saw Derek," Garcia said.
"How do you know?"
"Morgan told me last night, we were talking I told him I could erase Rodney for him, computer wise, he told me not to even go near the guy, when we got upstairs I asked him what had happened, he told me about what happened when he was with Des, and then at the youth center," she said.
"The point is?" Hotch asked her.
"The bastard lied, said that Morgan was gone by the time he got outside, it was a lie, he saw Morgan before that," Penelope said.
Hotch parked the SUV before getting out shutting the door behind him. "What didn't you tell her?" Gideon asked as they went inside with Gordinski and the others going around back.
"I know what Morgan didn't want us to find out, not because he was trying to protect that bastard, but because he was trying to protect himself, he didn't want us to know what Buford did to him," Hotch said as they went inside.
"You're telling me that…" Gideon start, but he didn't have to finish he now understood what Hotch had figured out back at the station and what he'd not told Garcia.
Garcia was standing outside, she was running everything in her mind, and she knew that Hotch hadn't told her everything. 'God I hate profilers,' she thought to herself. She wanted to be curled up at Fran's house with Derek in his old room. He'd planned a whole day of just them two having fun, but it had been ruined. She just hoped that whatever was going on would end soon and that Hotch and Gideon would bring Morgan back out here to her.
Hotch and Gideon stood outside the office door out of sight, they didn't want Buford to see them standing there. It was a shouting match between Morgan and him. Hotch was doing the best he could not to just go in there and arrest the guy right then, but they need a confession. He just hated making Morgan do this, it didn't seem right, but they had no other choice.
Gideon was trying not to go in there as well, hearing the bastard blaming Morgan for not stopping him. He was just a kid, he was scared and terrified. It was not his fault that this had happened to him. He never asked for this, and Gideon knew he'd never wanted it.
"Go to hell," Morgan said when Buford asked him to help him. There was no way he was going to help him. The man had destroyed a part of him along time ago that he thought he'd never get back, and some part of him still believed he'd never be able to erase. However, he had a certain someone that would help him through this; he knew that Garcia wouldn't let him take this on alone. If she could she'd erase this for him, but it was the one thing that she couldn't erase.
Gordinski walked up to him as his partner led Buford away. He wanted to say something to Derek but there was nothing that words could do right now. he wanted to say he was sorry for what had happed but he couldn't fix the damage that had been done. He only nodded before walking out of the room and past Hotch and Gideon.
The expressions on Hotch and Gideon's face said everything, but Morgan already knew that they'd found out. They were profilers they did this every day of their lives they were bound to find out that was one the reasons he'd never wanted them there to start with, but he knew if he hadn't called or Gordinski, Garcia would have called them.
"Let's get out of here," Gideon said, "Soon as Garcia sees them she's going to come in here for you," he added.
"Don't say it, she would have forced Emily or JJ to bring her otherwise and she already saw you leave, she was hiding in one the SUV's," Hotch said.
"I can't not right now," Morgan got out, how could he go out there and face her, she'd know, some how she'd know.
"I'm pretty sure if you don't go out there and let her know that you are still alive she's going to come in here even though I told her not to," Hotch said.
"I just need few minutes," he said looking around the office.
"Don't let him win, you haven't so far, so don't you start now, she needs to know that you are okay, and you need her right now more than ever, do not push her away," Gideon said before they left him alone giving him some time.
Garcia was standing beside the SUV when she saw Gordinski and the other detective come out. She saw who they had in custody and she knew now that Hotch and Gideon had been right, the only thing she was still confused about is what her handsome Special Agent had to do with all this.
"Give me a minute," Gordinski said to his partner before he walked over to where Garcia was standing. "I'm sorry I accused Derek of this," he said.
"You should be apologizing to him not me, you put him through hell all day today, and he wasn't even the bastard that killed those boys, he helped bury the first one," she said the anger she'd been holding in coming out.
"I know that now, I'm just sorry I didn't see it before, I fixated on him and the real murder and child molester was out here," he said.
"What?" Garcia said making Hotch and Gideon who'd been standing at the exit look up and over at her. "Did you just tell me that he was molesting them too?" she asked.
"I have to go and deal with the paper work and everything, you should really talk to your boyfriend," Gordinski said.
"He's my fiancé," Garcia stated before walking towards Hotch, "You didn't tell me everything did you, you left out the part about he could also have done something to Derek?" she questioned.
"It's not my place to tell you that, Morgan said he needed few minutes, we'll be in the SUV," Hotch said walking off.
Gideon was still standing there leaning against the brick wall. "Don't let him push you away, he might try to do that tonight, but don't let him, he's kept this to his self for so long and now that it is out its going to eat him up at first."
"So it is true?" Garcia asked again, "He did those things to Derek, and he's gotten away with it for so long because he's made all the kids scared of him," she said before she went inside not waiting for an answer she already knew it.
TBC
AN: There is going to be at least two more chapters of this story, I hope you like how this chapter went. I had to rewrite the last part twice; I couldn't decide how I wanted it to go. Thanks for all your reviews.