My Life
This will conclude my short Morcia storyline for now. Sappy, happy endings for all! And maybe a hint more of smut…
Set during Season 4, between episode 7 when Jordan Todd joined the team and 11 when the Road Warrior was shooting people on the freeway.
Dating her best friend had been a dream-come-true for Penelope. He still flirted relentlessly, but he made up for it when they managed to find alone time. He was thoughtful - always bringing her coffee or tea; giving her month-versary gifts of trinkets to help fill her desk with more color, sparkles, and smiles; massaging her feet when her heels were unnaturally high; sending her text/email updates throughout their cases to make sure that she knew he was ok; and countless other gestures that made her heart melt and her love for Derek grow.
Penelope survived his almost getting blown up at the Libertarian ranch, and he helped her get through the ordeal of finding Reid's dad. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. As JJ grew ever more radiant and round, the team had to find her replacement to cover her maternity leave. It was not that anyone could ever replace her favorite blonde, but Penelope knew she would have to play nice and try to like this new team member. However, she was not prepared for Jordan Todd.
This thin, driven, mysterious black beauty came stampeding into her life, throwing off Penelope's stride. Todd picked up on Derek's flirty way of talking and joined right in. It was hard to describe the level of betrayal Garcia instantly felt when Morgan so casually took their special thing, their flirty banter, and shared it with this new person. Every time they would casually flirt, this irrational thought would claw it's way up from her gut and nest in her brain.
He's going to leave you for her. She's prettier. She's more of his usual type. She's an actual bad-ass agent, and you're just a techie geek who could stand to lose some weight. He's going to leave you for her.
Every time this train of thought derailed her normal thinking, her chest would physically ache at the possibility. The logical part of her brain knew that he loved her, but she couldn't help but grow gradually more defeated with every playful conversation between her chocolate thunder and his new mocha latte goddess. It didn't help that the team was gone for almost a whole month just after JJ gave birth.
The team had just wrapped up another long-distance case. The Road Warrior was shooting people from his car to assuage some screwed up sense of masculinity that had warped his brain. The team was flying back, most rather shaken up due to finding the deceased bodies of the Road Warrior's family in his home. That included not only his wife, but two young daughters. JJ called up Penelope and asked to bring Henry into the roundtable room to see the team. Penelope couldn't deny that the team could probably really use the pick me up and agreed to keep it a secret.
As JJ waited for the team, Penelope went to heat up a bottle for the adorable baby boy. After exiting the elevator, Reid noticed someone in the BAU room, and the rest of the team joined him to investigate. He was the first to enter the room.
Upon seeing his best friend, Reid asked excitedly, "What are you doing here?"
Emily walked in behind him and exclaimed, "JJ!"
JJ smiled at them and the rest of the team as they trailed in. She answered Reid, "Garcia said that you guys were on your way back tonight. I though you could use a surprise."
Emily, Reid and Morgan crowded around her, making faces and saying hi to the baby swaddled in JJ's arms.
Ever the buzzkill, Hotch asked from the back of the group. "I thought I gave you strict orders to get this place out of your head for a while."
Penelope re-entered the room, taking all of the blame for JJ's presence and Henry's. "My bad. I couldn't help myself." She maneuvered through the cluster of teammates to the baby. "Here. I heated it up. Room temp, right?"
JJ nodded and semi-answered Hotch. "I just realized, with all that we do and see in this room, it never smiles. I wanted at least one good memory to hold onto."
Morgan stepped up closer to JJ, passing Reid. "Excuse me, kid. Um, JJ, can I?" He held out his arms to hold the baby.
JJ smiled at him. "Of course!" She gently handed over her infant son.
Emily was more concerned. "Ok, you gotta hold his head up. Careful. Careful."
Morgan tried to hush them up. "I got it. I got it." He was awkwardly holding the baby, trying to be tender and careful.
Penelope scolded him. "No, you don't got it. You're smothering him."
Morgan just turned to let the others see Henry. "I got it. Look. What's he doing? What's he doing? He is smiling at Derek Morgan." Morgan smiled brightly.
Penelope and Emily both smirked at each other and replied in unison, "Gas." Hotch laughed at their antics.
Morgan scoffed at them, pretending to be offended. "Give me that." He took the bottle from Penelope and preceded to feed the baby while the rest of the group talked among themselves, cooing over the baby and its adorableness.
Penelope stood by JJ and Emily, fussing over the baby in Morgan's arms. She couldn't help but bask in the image of her boyfriend holding such a tiny bundle of joy. He looked good in that role, a fatherly role. As soon as she had the idea, she squashed it. He was leaving her soon, so there was no need to dream about things that would never happen. He would never get to hold the blended baby growing in her belly. She would let him leave and then raise it on her own if she had to, though she knew her team would have her back. She'd have to request a transfer eventually if he didn't transfer first to be closer to Todd. Penelope couldn't work with him daily, reminding her of the loss of her soulmate to a two-bit hussy that couldn't even stick it out with her elite team of superhero friends.
She was slowly planning this inevitable future in her head when Derek noticed her staring off into space. "What's got you so distracted, Mama?" he asked playfully. He didn't expect the reaction he got.
In her logical brain, she knew that he had called her Mama plenty of times. It was just another in a long line of nicknames he had for her: Mama, Baby Girl, Goddess, Hotness, etc. But now that it actually applied to her, now that she was going to be a mama, she couldn't handle it. She excused herself and hurried out the room and to her lair. Safely in her sound-proof walls and surrounded by her monitors and knickknacks, she let it all out. She sat in her chair, face down on her desk, arms around her head, and cried. Tears flowed freely down her face, steaming up her glasses. Gasping sobs racked her lungs. She let out all of the torment brought on by Derek's relationship with Todd.
When her sobs slowed down, and she was able to pull herself out of her own personal hell, she sighed with relief. Sometimes a good cry just cleansed the soul.
Then a deep, rich voice softly spoke up. "Baby Girl…"
Penelope swirled around in her seat, startled by the interruption. Derek stood just inside her lair, leaning back against the door, mostly hidden in the shadows. His face creased with worry, jaw tight and eyes pleading. "What happened?" he asked, genuinely at a loss as to what could've crushed her so badly. His thoughts kept telling him that it was somehow his fault, that only he could hurt her like this, but he couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong.
Penelope slumped her shoulders in defeat. She hadn't expected to have to explain her outburst, but now she knew she'd have to, at least to the best of her ability. She waved Derek over and gestured for him to sit in the rolling chair across from her. "First," she looked him as straight in the eye as she could, only glancing away near the end of her sentence, "I need you not to be mad, okay?"
When he didn't speak, Penelope looked up and he nodded. Derek didn't trust himself to talk right then. He was too worried, and he needed to be quiet to let Penelope get this out.
"Alright… You broke my heart," her voice wavered at that statement, and she took a deep breath to steady it. "Flirting in the office was always our thing, and then you so casually flirted with her, with Todd," she almost spat the name, "that it just crushed me. I know you like her, and that you probably like her more than you like me, and that you'll probably leave me for her, but it still hurts…" She let her thoughts trail off, unable to think of anything else to say.
Morgan took her hands in his. "Baby Girl, look at me." When she finally did, he continued, "I am so sorry that I hurt you. I didn't know that I did. I would never hurt you on purpose. And the flirty talking with her ends now. I mean it." He brushed the backs of her hands with his thumbs. "And I mean this with all of the love in the world, for a smart woman, you don't know as much as you think you do." He smirked at her. "Sure, I like Todd, as a co-worker, and that's it. I don't like her more than you, I'm not going to leave you for her, and I certainly don't love her. I love you, Mama. You're my world, and I'm sorry I ever did anything to make you doubt that." He kissed her knuckles.
Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks. "Oh, Derek! I'm sorry. I'm just a basket of emotions right now. I should've known you would never leave me, and I'll do my best to not doubt you in the future."
Derek chuckled. "Just be honest with me. Tell me when I'm doing something wrong, Mama."
A bright smile lit up her face. "Oh! I haven't told you. I am going to be a Mama now!" She stood up pulling her Hotstuff with her. "I thought you were leaving me, so I wasn't going to say anything, but I can tell you now. I'm pregnant with a little Morgan!"
After a few seconds of shock, he pieced the news together. "Wait, I'm going to be a dad?" Penelope nodded cheerfully. An equally bright smile beamed from Derek's face. "Mama, I was going to wait for a better time, but I can't wait anymore now." He knelt down in front of her on one knee and pulled out a little box from his pocket. He held it out to her and opened the box, revealing a pink, heart-shaped diamond ring with smaller white diamonds along the band. "Mama, you've already made me so happy just now, and I promise to continue to do everything in my power to make you and our own little bundle of joy happy. I want to share my life with you, grow old with you, and make lots of little Morgans with you. Will you marry me, Baby Girl?"
Penelope smiled even bigger, afraid her face might split. "Yes, Hotstuff! Absolutely!" She wrapped her arms around his neck as he stood up, hugging him tight. "How did I get so lucky?" she wondered.
Derek snickered. "Well, you got busted for cyber-hacking, and I helped arrest you. It's a tale as old as time, right?" Pulling back, he winked at her and slid the ring onto her finger.
She held out her hand, admiring the right. "It's so… me! I love it, Derek." She kissed him softly, but he quickly turned it to steamy. Pulling back, she snuggled into his chest and hummed. "We should go tell the others. The family needs to know."
Morgan nodded. "Whatever you want, Goddess. Let's go add to their happy surprise." As she practically skipped ahead of him, dragging him along, Derek couldn't help but smile to himself. She had not only changed his life in so many ways since meeting her, but she had become his life, and he couldn't be happier.