AN: Thanks again for all your reviews, alerts and story favorites! You guys just make me it all the more exciting for me to keep writing knowing you like it! Sorry about how long it took to update. My computer crashed with this chapter 3/4 of the way finished, it took me the last three weeks to figure out a way to save this file and reformat the whole thing, and then try and open it again. Thankfully, I was able to save it. Wheew. Anyways, please leave a comment!

Chapter Four: "Into You like a Train"

If Derek noticed her run out of the SUV like her tail was on fire once they pulled into their reserved parking at the FBI, then he didn't say it. As soon as she grabbed Maddie, she decided against letting the little girl walk and instead choose to carry her, mentally thanking god when she realized she chose to wear flats not her usual heels today. As soon as they got in the elevator, she started to get nervous.

What would everyone think about her impromptu adoption? Would they say anything in front of Maddie? The little girl was already as skittish as a squirrel; she didn't want her to have any doubts about being wanted. They were profilers though, they should know better…shouldn't they?

She felt Derek's hand rubbing soothing circles on her lower back making her thoughts stop running a million miles an hour in her head. She didn't even have to say anything. He could read her like an open book. Something else that was making her stomach churn. She was starting to regret the open conversation they had in the SUV a few minutes ago. He looked so angry when she told him what was going on, - she wanted to make sure he didn't do anything stupid that he would regret later.

Her thoughts were broken suddenly when the elevator opened and right, smack dab in front of them was Spencer Reid.

"Hey Garcia, hey Morgan," He greets them in his enthusiastically charming boy manner that warms her heart. "Who's the little one?"

Her throat all of the sudden dries up and she feels a full on body flush make its way on her body. As if she could sense Pen's uneasiness, Maddie starts to clutch Elmo so tightly the colors leave her little arms and her face hides in her mama's neck.

"Hey Reid, can you gather up everyone in the conference room? Garcia wants to talk to all of us." Morgan steps in and breaks the tension filled silence, watching as Reid looks between the three of them curiously before stepping back and nodding – then heading into the bullpen to do as he asked.

"I can't do this," Penelope whispers watching as everyone leaves their desks and heads into the room, not noticing her and Derek were standing back there.

"Yes you can. They're your family babygirl, they're going to support you. You know this. They'll fall in love with this little cutie here," he pokes Maddie's nose in an effort to comfort the little girl a bit and make light of the situation for her sake, "you'll probably have to fight Reid and JJ for her they're going to want play-dates with Henry all the time."

She lets out a laugh at the last statement, remembering her godson. Of course, she was being silly. They might have a hard time understanding at first, but once they met Maddie, she knew they'd fall in love with her. Just like she did. And just like Derek did too.

"Okay, okay. You're right. Maddie's awesome. I'm an awesome mamma. They'll support us," Penny responds smiling brightly and forcing a peppy tone in order to calm down the frightened little girl. "Right pretty girl?" She asks looking at Maddie who gives her a look of unease, furrowed eye brows and her lips turned down in a frown. She still hadn't let go of her death grip on Elmo, making Pen a little nervous about Maddie regressing from all the progress she'd made in the last day or so.

Deciding to not push the matter for now and make things worse, Pen starts walking in the bullpen with Derek close behind her – ignoring the curious looks her other coworkers were shooting them as they tried to make their way up to the conference room.

As soon as she walked into the room, she could see the confused and curious looks everyone was shooting her. She was at least grateful no one spoke up before she had a chance to do so. Derek walked in last and closed the door behind them, staying back and letting her step up and do the talking on her own this time.

All of the sudden, Maddie bursts into tears – the sound making everyone turn to where Pen was holding her and the little girl was trying to desperately kick her way out of the arms were keeping her up. Putting her down on her feet, Pen immediately forgets the audience she has in the room watching her interaction with the toddler who was visibly upset, - red faced, snot running, waterfall shedding out of her eyes.

"Hey, hey what's wrong Mads?" Pen asks, sitting down on the floor by the toddler who scoots away from her.

Derek starts to walk up to them but when Pen looks up and gives him a look that says 'please stay back' - so he just stands there and watches to see how she handles it.

"Maddie, baby, tell mommy what's wrong," she whispers to the toddler who stops sobbing for a minute after her statement and starts to give her a look mixed with hurt and longing.

"Pwease no let 'em cake me mama!" She screams, visibly getting more upset and shutting herself off from everyone. "I be good, I pwomise!"

"Woah! Maddie! Honey! No one is taking you anywhere!" Pen exclaims loudly watching as the little girl's loud sobs turn into small whimpers as she keeps her eyes glued to what Penelope's saying. "I told you that you were mine for good. Remember? We're going to be together forever."

There was a pause of silence in the room as everyone watched to see how the little girl would react, no one expecting her to jump into Penelope's lap and wrap her arms tightly around Pen, ignoring the fact that her face was filled with snot and tear residue – Pen picks her up and hugs her tightly, her hands making soothing circles on the little girl's back as she feels her hiccups subside and the tension slowly leave her little body.

Jeez, did she really think she was just going to drop her off somewhere?

"Remember what I told you about when you met Derek?" Penelope starts talking to the little girl, watching as she nods slowly and looks back between her and Derek a few times before putting her attention back on her.

"Dewik's yor Elmo."

Derek smiles at her logic and Pen just laughs softly, not aware as everyone else quietly takes in the scene between the three of them who are looking conspicuously a lot closer than anyone thought Derek and Pen had been for the last few months.

"Yes. He's my best friend. Just like Elmo is your best friend," she states, the confirmation leaving something unsettled in the air as Derek shifts uncomfortably.

"Derek's not my only best friend though. I have more."

"Mowe?!" Maddie exclaims back, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Yes! More! We're so close that they're actually like family. Kind of like aunts and uncles?" As she tries to explain she realizes Maddie probably has no idea what the proper family hierarchy looks like so the idea of an aunt/uncle is foreign to her. Given by the look of confusion the toddler is shooting her, she's pretty sure there's a lack of connect between the communication they're having right now. "Okay, never mind. I'll explain that later. The important thing to remember is that – they won't hurt you okay? They're very, very nice." The nodding that was accompanying her last statement made her look kind of like a bobble head, but she hoped all the positive body language and verbal confirmation she was sending to the little girl was enough to bring her frightened little guard down.

"No mean wady?" The trembling of her lower lip showed just how terrified Maddie was of returning to her previous home.

"No baby. No more mean lady. The mean lady is gone. You're never going to see her again, okay?"

Nodding in understanding, Maddie hugs Pen again seeking comfort from the emotional rollercoaster she just went through the last few minutes.

Standing up with her daughter in her arms, she looks up – seeing everyone staring at her and Maddie with looks of astonishment, confusion and happiness.

"Everyone, this is my daughter Maddie. Maddie, this is JJ, Spencer Reid, Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss, and David Rossi. They work with mommy and Derek," Pen finishes pointing everyone out to the little girl giving her a few seconds to digest everything.

"Elmos?" Maddie asks, looking to Derek for conformation as he lets out a laugh to her comment, making her smile at him.

"Yes, they're all Elmos too."

"Mama?"

"Yes, baby?"

"I hungwy."

Everyone laughs at the short attention span the little girl had, watching as a look of relief comes over Pen's face from her statement.

"Okay. Well, I have your chicken nuggets in my bag. Mommy's got to talk to the team here, will you be okay if you hang out with Derek for a few minutes?"

Maddie quickly nods her head in agreement and runs over to Derek putting her arms up for him to pick her up. "Dewik I hungwy!" She squeals loudly as Derek flinches a bit from her tone.

"Well, we can't have that happen can we?!" He responds dramatically, causing Maddie to start giggling and shaking her head in agreement.

As soon as the pair leaves the room to go sit in Derek's office and eat, she turns around and sees everyone giving her a look of amusement and confusion.

"Okay. You can all talk now. Just – one at a time, please?" She says as she takes a seat at the front of the table.

"I'm assuming despite the genetic similarities between you two that she is a foster child you're in the midst of adopting?"

Shooting an obvious look at Spencer, she nods her head trying to maintain her composure. Their support for her on this was detrimentally important to her. They were her family, and she cared about what they thought.

"Well, I think it's great," Emily says, standing up and making her way over to Pen to give her a hug. "You are one of the most caring people I have ever known, and that little girl just struck gold." The bright smile that Emily added at the end of her statement enforced confidence in the room as slowly, one by one everyone else congratulated Pen and showed their support in their own way.

Penelope headed up to the HR office to fill out a mountain of paperwork on the newest addition to her family, leaving Derek in charge of the little girl for the time being. She hoped maybe Maddie would bond a bit with the team, but she had a feeling it would just take her a good amount of time to let down her protective instincts around everyone she met. How quickly she bonded with her and Derek she was sure was just a fluke. She wasn't counting on it to keep happening this time around.

Meanwhile downstairs, Spencer was in Derek's office with JJ showing Maddie some magic tricks in order to get her more comfortable around them. Noticing that Maddie was feeling more relaxed around the duo, Derek heads over to his desk and picks up the file he had requested be waiting for him here when he arrived.

The manila folder was thicker than he wanted, and to be honest – part of him wasn't sure it was okay for him to be reading what he was about to be looking at.

NAME: Madelyn Elizabeth Walters
SEX: Female
D.O.B: January 18, 2009
RACE: White
BIOLOGICAL PARENTS: Thomas R. Walters (deceased)
Gabriella N. Walters (deceased)
SIBLINGS: Jackson Consuela - maternal brother (state foster custody)
EXTENDED FAMILY MEMBERS: Denika Consuela – maternal grandmother (deceased)
Daniel Walters – paternal grandfather (incarcerated)
Shelly Walters – paternal grandmother (incarcerated)
AGE ENTERED INTO FOSTER SYSTEM: 13 months
CASE WORKER(s): Monica James (2009). Jake Sawyer (2010). Monica James (2011-current).

CASE HISTORY:

Suspected abuse and neglect reported by neighbor Janine Branden in July of investigated by M. James, August 2009, allegations unfounded. Child to remain in care of biological parents.

Suspected neglect and abuse reported by Mercy Hospital nurse, Amy Jarden in December of 2009. Complaint investigated by M. James, December 2009, allegations unfounded. Child to remain in care of biological parents.

Suspected child endangerment reported by neighbor Taylor Smith in February 2010. Complaint investigated by J. Sawyer, March 2010, allegations warranted further investigation. Child removed from home, placed with emergency temporary foster family. Investigation concluded, April 2010, allegations partially supported. Child to remain in care of foster home, biological parents required to submit to supervised visits while attending parenting courses and AA visits.

Suspected abuse and neglect reported by Mercy Hospital Doctor, L. Sloan, September 2010. Complaint investigated by J. Sawyer. Allegations warranted further investigation, child removed from foster family situation, placed in a state-run medical facility. Investigation concluded, October 2010, allegations supported, child replaced in state facility care. Child required to undergo therapy session(s) until cleared by facility's psychiatrist.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS:

Burns to upper abdomen, Malnourishment, Dehydration, Hairline fracture to anterior skull (L), February 2010.

Contusion to posterior skull (R), 2 broken ribs (4th&5th) (L), Dehydration, Malnourishment, Concussion, High level of Methamphetamine toxicity, September 2010.

Physician's Progress notes
Attending Physician: Dr. L. Sloan
Time and date of consultation: 02:05; September 21, 2010

Patient is a 20 month old female, arrived by ambulance in the pediatric ward of the ER with multiple diagnoses. Patient accompanied by law enforcement. Social worker called in to investigate surrounding circumstances due to questionable parental status. Madelyn Walters presented to Mercy Hospital dehydrated, undernourished and in signs of severe distress. Signs of physical trauma present. CT Report shows serious contusions to the posterior skull (R). X-Rays confirmed significant bone remodeling with the fourth and fifth ribs broken. Patient showed some signs of possible sexual interference with light scaring to vaginal opening. Sexual Assault Rape Nurse notified. Case worker notified. On-call psychiatrist notified. Patient requires 1-on-1 sitter due to request of law enforcement officials.

Blood tests confirm the presence of high level of methamphetamines. Withdrawal symptoms present in intermediate stage.

Epidermal abrasions on both (L) and (R) forearms, neck and upper abdomen.

Patient admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit to undergo further evaluation.

IV antibiotic administered for epidermal abrasions.

IV sedative administered during withdrawal process.

Respiratory Therapy called in for breathing treatments q1 hr for duration of stay in hospital.

Patient admitted to PICU under the care of Dr. A. Robbins.

Walking into Derek's office, Pen was delighted to see Maddie sitting on JJ's lap and giggling as Reid pulled a quarter out from behind her ear making the toddler excited and happy. What she didn't expect was to see Derek with his face scrunched up like he was upset about something. He hadn't looked up from whatever he was reading to notice she was in there yet. He looked as if he was in his own world at the moment. If Maddie hadn't noticed she was there, he probably wouldn't have either.

"Momma!"

The toddler quickly runs over to Pen as she bends down and puts her arms out for Maddie to run straight into.

" 'Pensir is a magwitian!" Maddie squeals holding the quarter they had been using when playing hide-and-seek with her.

"Is he now?" Pen whispers back excitedly, feeding into the little girl's happy mood.

"Uh huh!"

"Thanks for keeping her company guys," she smiles at JJ and Reid as they stand up and make their way out of the office.

"No problem Garcia, we had a great time," Reid said reaching behind Maddie's head and pulling another quarter out for her. "Didn't we Mads?"

Maddie squealed in excitement and clapped her hands as she lunged for the quarter that appeared in front of her.

"Come on Magic-man," JJ said, laughing at how adorable Reid was being with the little girl. "We'll talk to you guys later."

Nodding in agreement and returning the hug both of them gave her as they were leaving the room, Penny finally turns around feeling Derek's eyes on her as the door shuts behind the couple that just left.

She couldn't pinpoint exactly where Derek's emotions were right now. He seemed upset about something, but she wasn't exactly sure it was her place to push him. Especially with how raw things still were between them after their last heart to heart.

"I think we're going to go home and get things ready for the furniture guys tomorrow," she says, looking down a few seconds before looking back up at him.

Maybe some space between them would do them both some good right now.

"Okay."

Derek nods in agreement as he walks over to them and stops a few steps in front of her.

"Can I have a goodbye hug princess?"

Maddie lunges out of Pen's arms and throws her little body on Derek causing him to take a step back to keep himself upright. It was a fierce hug. When she pulled away, her sad eyes made his stomach drop.

"Will I ever see you again Unca Dewik?"

"Of course! I'll see you tomorrow to help get all your princess stuff into your room!" Derek responds quickly, watching as a look of relief comes over Maddie's face and she hugs him again, this time hiding her face in his neck - seeking some comfort.

He was always a family man. He knew that. He loved his nieces and nephews like they were his own. But watching Penny's eyes water as he felt Maddie squeeze him tightly - made him lightheaded.

He couldn't imagine not being able to hold them in his arms. It just felt -, right.

"Well well well - isn't this cozy? Who's the toddler?"

That chilly - and slightly bitchy tone of voice made Pen's back stand up straight immediately. Maddie pulled back from Derek and lunged for Penny hiding from the scary lady at the door.

"Janie, this is my daughter Madelyn," Penny responded, turning around to look at the woman who split her and Derek to opposite ends of the world it seemed.

The introductions stopped there. She felt no need to subject a traumatized toddler to the snide remarks Derek's girlfriend would subtly throw their way. It was better if they walked away. Even if it seemed as if that's all she was ever doing these days.

Just walking away from things.

"Moving on a little fast aren't ya?" Janie says, smiling at Penny - her tone anything but friendly.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes away with her back facing the other woman, Pen clutches her daughter tighter as she leans down to grab her purse.

"We'll see you later Derek, have a good night."

She starts to walk away before she feels his hand on hers pulling her back to him lightly. She looks up, giving him a confused expression before he leans over and kisses her lightly on the cheek.

He didn't seem to notice the glares they were receiving at the moment. Of if he did, he certainly didn't show it. His eyes hadn't left hers at all.

"Don't pull away from me again. Please, not now. Not after all this..." He whispers, watching as her eyes water and she nods quickly in agreement. He wasn't sure if he was serious or if she was just wanting to get the hell out of the awkward situation he had just landed them both in but he took her nod as a positive sign. He squeezed her hand lightly before letting her go, watching as she rushed past Janie and quickly made her way out of the bullpen.

"What the hell was that about Derek Morgan?"

Her hands on her hips combined with the glare she was giving him should have made him flinch - even just a little bit - but all it did was feed into his anger and annoyance - at her.

He shuts the door behind her and closes his blinds as he turns around to face her, he can see the slightest bit of hesitation and vulnerability she tries to hide with her overtly confident, superiority complex.

"We need to talk Janie."

A/N: Eh? Eh? What'd you think? Alright, I'm not sure if I'm actually going to go through with showing their entire argument in the next chapter. I think it's time for some good old fashioned BAU family bonding time. I'd like to see Maddie interact more with everyone else. If you have anything you want to see feel free to shout it out, I might add it in - I might not. I always love hearing new ideas though so don't be shy. Thanks again for my loyal followers. I still can't believe this story is that popular! :)