Chapter Eleven

In a panic, Derek rushed to Penelope's side, for the moment forgetting about Kevin. All he cared about was that his Baby Girl was bleeding and motionless on the ground. He scooped her broken body up into his arms in one swift motion. Placing a finger to her throat, he grimaced as he found a thready pulse. Her breathing was shallow and labored, each inhale seeming to take more and more effort than the one before.

"Hang on, princess, you hang on while I get some help," Derek murmured as he hastily grabbed his phone and dialed for an ambulance. After hastily relaying Penelope's condition to the operator, he began to rock her gently in his arms.

"What did he do to you?" he asked her nearly lifeless body. But the bruising to her thighs told the whole story. Derek placed his hand to the source of the bleeding, hoping his palm would staunch the steady flow of red. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, and his tears sprinkled her face.

"Don't you give up on me, Baby. Don't you go without letting me tell you how much I love you and how much I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You hear me?" Derek was starting to feel desperate as he watched her fade faster and faster towards the next life. Finally, the ambulance arrived.

"You got to let me ride with her!" he exclaimed as the paramedics worked quickly to stabilize her and then placed her in the ambulance.

"Hop in!" one EMT exclaimed. Derek knew that he should probably hunt down Lynch- and God knew how much he wanted to kill the f-bastard- but he couldn't leave Penelope. Not now. Not ever.

At The Hospital

Once again, Derek found himself at Penelope's bedside, though unlike last time, he felt no hope at all. His girl was in a coma, completely dependent on a ventilator and IV to keep her alive. The doctor told him that the beating and rape that Kevin had mercilessly bestowed on her would've killed her if Derek hadn't gotten help when he did. Even with his quick work, Penelope's only tether to life was a machine that breathed for her.

"I love you…..so much," he breathed, throat constricting, as he kissed her hand. For hours he had repeated these words, hoping each time that they would trigger her return to consciousness. But she remained still and silent.

"I don't even know exactly when I realized that I would always love you, Baby. Maybe it was the first time we met. Maybe it was after you were shot. All I know is…I can never love another woman in the way that I love you. You complete me, my God-given solace. Without you…..my world will just fall to pieces. I don't know how I can survive if you leave me. So please, Baby Girl, wake up. Wake up, if only because there's someone right at your bedside who wants you back more than anything else in the entire world."

Her eyelids tremored slightly. Derek paused, in disbelief. He waited, hoping against hope that he would get to see her radiant brown orbs…..but she seemed to settle back into her dark oblivion. He sighed. Maybe it was better that she was unconscious, maybe it was better that she wasn't suffering any pain (at least he HOPED she wasn't in pain), maybe it was better that she didn't know all of the damage Kevin had done to her.

Kevin. The name itself caused bile to form in Derek's throat. That son of a bitch was still out there….maybe even celebrating in Penelope's agony! Rage clouded his eyes, and it was only after he took a deep breath that he realized how tightly he was clenching Penelope's hand. Loosening his grip, Derek began to plot his revenge. Prison was a price worthy to pay for Kevin's murder. He would happily spend the remainder of his days locked up if Lynch was nothing but a bloody pulp six feet under the ground.

But then he remembered Penelope. If he went to jail just for the sake of vengeance, then he would never get his happy-ever-after with the woman he loved. He would never get to hold her in his arms, never get to tell her exactly what she meant to him, never get to marry and start a family with her. The police and the other team members were on the lookout for Kevin; Derek hadn't been foolish enough to not get backup while he was at the hospital. For once, he didn't want to be out in the field.

Not when someone more important kept him here.